1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the easy, less fatiguing carrying of a long arm firearm (rifle, shotgun, or muzzle loader), and, more particularly, to an easy-to-use carrier having two cooperating members for cradling and securely holding a long arm firearm and a handle for holding the carrier.
2) Related Art
Slings have been employed with hand-carried firearms by both hunters and military personnel for many years. The purpose of such devices is to relieve the bearer from the burden of carrying the long arm firearm (normally a rifle) with his arms except during those periods of time in which it is anticipated that the firearm will be used, or is actually being used. The conventional sling, although permitting the firearm bearer to do other things with his hands, does not permit access to the firearm quickly in a combat or hunting situation. Thus, the conventional sling, a flexible strap connected at the forward end of the firearm to a terminal and to a terminal at the gun stock end (normally on the underside of the rear portion of the stock) permits the firearm to be either suspended from one shoulder of the bearer or to be carried diagonally across the back of the firearm bearer. In the event that the firearm must be aimed and discharged quickly, both of the above-described carrying positions require time to reorient the firearm, time which may not be available. These manipulations are made additionally cumbersome when the bearer is wearing thick or heavy clothing or is restricted in his movement by his surroundings. Also, the barrel of the firearm being carried, unless extremely short, tends to catch on vegetation and other impediments to travel, causing undue crouching and maneuvering by the bearer. In addition, contact with any impediment creates unwanted sound.
Another problem with conventional slings is that they normally must be adjusted to fit both the firearm and the bearer, thus precluding rapid change in use to another firearm or use by another bearer.
Typically, when the bearer of a firearm anticipates that discharge is imminent, he ceases using the sling and carries the firearm diagonally across his chest with one hand on the forearm of the stock and the other hand on the grip of the butt stock. Should the need to discharge the firearm lessen, but still be likely, the bearer will use the one-hand carry. However, the unaided across-the-chest carry and the unaided one-hand carry are very fatiguing.
An attempt to address these problems of the conventional sling has been made by a device disclosed in U.S. Pat. D346,473 to Virgil Franks, the inventor of the carrier of this application. This patent discloses a device that has a handle permanently attached to a cradle which supports the firearm being carried. However, it has been found that the design suffers from several disadvantages.
The cradle, having a front member and a back member that are permanently attached to the handle, cannot be easily repaired.
The handle being made of two pieces requires more handling and machining than a one-piece handle. If the handle is made of wood, considerable loss will occur during production of the handle pieces because of irregularities and defects in lumber stock and difficulty in machining to the necessary tolerances of the design. If molded from plastic material or other material, the cost of the handle increases.
Although, not evident from the patent, it has been found that the attaching and detaching of the carrier of the design shown in the patent requires considerable practice to avoid pinching of the fingers.